Sheriff: Mom drowned baby in bucket, killed herself

OWYHEE COUNTY - The Owyhee County Sheriff's Office is investigating what appears to be a murder-suicide involving a 31-year-old mother and her young daughter.

The sheriff's office said they received a report of a suspicious vehicle in Hammett Tuesday morning around 10.

When deputies from Elmore and Owyhee County arrived on scene, they found Desiree Vistercil unresponsive in the driver's seat of a 2005 Ford Focus. The coroner later determined she died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

Vistercil's 16-month-old daughter was found dead in the backseat.

The child was immersed face-down in a five-gallon bucket full of water. The coroner said the child died from drowning.

Investigators say all evidence points towards a homicide and a suicide. The deaths remain under investigation.

Owyhee County Sheriff Perry Grant said in a statement that he wanted to express "my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and my sincerest appreciation to the first responders."